2 month old won't sleep on her back

[corn99]

We have a 2 month old DD who won't sleep on her back at night. When she's placed on her back (even when already asleep) she almost always immediately stirs, waves her arms around, legs go up kicking in air. If we ignore, it gets worse until she starts crying and then fully woken up. She doesn't seem to have symptoms of silent reflux apart from the struggling on her back.

Conscious of safe sleep, we take shifts at night with her sleeping on her front on us so that she's never not observed. This is obviously exhausting for us!

We've tried a range of things - swaddles (different types), putting her on her side first, putting her down when she's already asleep, persistantly putting her down on back, gradually moving her off us to on her back, co-sleep, holding her upright after feeds, raising one end of crib, making crib smell of us, heating with hot water bottle, white noise, etc etc.

Spoken to health visitor and gp about it but neither able to give any practical solution. We don't want to let her 'cry it out'.

Wondered if anyone has experienced this and found something that's helped or can offer any reassurance about it improving at some point.

We bought a monitor for under the mattress that bleeped if no breathing- that way we felt safe letting dd front sleep and us to be able to relax too!

Babies always slept on their stomachs until the mid 1990's

It's just a recommendation that's all for a baby to sleep on their backs

It's a more comfortable natural way to sleep for a baby to sleep on their stomachs

It's just a recommended way to now sleep on their backs

You're causing yourselves and your baby an awful lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety

You are creating an anxiety driven atmosphere which does no one any good

If breastfeeding have you tried side lying feeding to sleep? It's been such a life saver for us. Also have a look at @cosleepy on Instagram for safe chest sleeping guidance

I think it's really common for babies to hate sleeping on their backs; both of mine certainly have.

With DC1 I was so paranoid and never let him sleep any other way, which definitely led to a lot of angry waking up and shortened sleeps.

With DC2 I've let her sleep on her side from a few weeks old as she much preferred it. We co sleep and I'm happy with the potential risk, especially given the advice is forever changing and mums were actually told to sleep their babies on their sides at one point.

It probably is reflux as she wakes up so quickly.

My eldest would NOT sleep on her back till she was 4 months. I slept upright leaving against the wardrobe with pillowsunder my elbows so I could hold her upright on my chest. On reflection (now I'm not insane with sleep deprivation) it would have been massively safer to let her sleep on her tummy....

Some babies really hate it. Many grow out of it, some don't. My eldest did end up sleeping on her back. One of her brothers never settled well on his back, and from the age of 8 months I gave up and he's slept on his tummy for the last 2 and a half years.

Can you stick it out a couple more weeks? SIDS risk drops over time anyway. By 4 months (which I know feels like a lifetime away!) An awful lot changes about their sleep. Will they sleep propped on their side?

Some tiny babies are horrifically bad sleepers. It doesn't mean they will be bad in the long run. My eldest was AWFUL and I thought I was genuinely going to lose my mind. I slept holding her for nearly 4 months. She's 7 now and for the last 4 years has slept like the DEAD. I never hear a peep from her before 7am and she is able to happily nod off while her 3 year old brothers race around and shout just the other side ofa thin wall. Indcidentally, they were fairly bad sleepers when they were 3/4 months old. One sleeps astonishingly well now. Go figure.

Sounds like trapped wind. Are you burping the baby enough? You didn't mention that in your list of strategies.

If she's BF, burp after each breast. If she's FF, pause during the bottle and burp every 30-50ml

I’m 4 months ahead of you and I wish I had a magic fix to share, but all I can say is it does get better!

Babies at that age are in the fourth trimester and prefer sleeping on mum/dad. I used to stay up all night holding the baby and remember how utterly exhausting it is.

My 2 kids preferred sleeping on their fronts. I followed the guidelines to the letter with my first, but ended up putting my second down on her front at 3 months. I’m not recommending this, it made me hugely anxious, but we were exhausted and it was the only way we could get some sleep.

Keep taking shifts so you can both get some sleep. Keep putting her down on her back so she gets used to it. Practice tummy time to encourage your little one to roll, so you can put her down on her back and she can get herself into a comfy position. If you haven’t tried a dummy, it could be worth a shot. If you see any signs of reflux definitely go back to the Dr.

Other than that, just know that it will get better. My baby is now 6 months, I’ve just put her down on her back and she’s rolled onto her side to sleep. Good luck!